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Pre-season Friendlies
Aug 3, 2014 at 2.30pm UK
 

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Rescaldani (22'), Alberto (24')

Live Commentary: West Ham United 0-2 Malaga - as it happened

Sports Mole's minute-by-minute coverage of West Ham United's 2-0 defeat to La Liga outfit Malaga in the Schalke 04 Cup in Germany.
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West Ham United took on Malaga in their final Schalke Cup match at the Gelsenkirchen stadium, looking for their second win in as many days.

However, Sam Allardyce's side were second-best throughout, and two quickfire goals midway through the first half from an impressive Malaga side killed off the game.

Read how it all unfolded in our minute-by minute live commentary below.


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Good afternoon! Thanks for joining Sports Mole this afternoon as we cover West Ham United's second game from the Schalke 04 Cup against Malaga. The Hammers drew 0-0 yesterday, but hopefully we will see some goals today!

The teams haven't been announced yet, but we will bring you the starting lineups as soon as they are announced. Hopefully we will get to see Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in action for Malaga - the 29-year-old shot stopper was one of the best performers at last month's FIFA World Cup, and if I'm honest, I'm surprised one of the European giants didn't snaffle him up!

The team news is in!

Malaga: Kameni; Perez, Angeleri, Rescaldani, Sanchez; Juanmi, Rosales, Sanchez, Boka; Alberto, Recio

West Ham United: Adrian; Jenkinson, Reid, Burke, Cresswell; Diame, Whitehead, Noble; Jarvis, Zarate, Vaz Te

There's no place in the Malaga side for Guillermo Ochoa then, but he is on the bench, so hopefully we will get a chance to see him at some point. Another familiar face in the Spanish side is Liverpool loanee Luis Alberto. He will be hoping for a better season than last year, when he made just nine appearances for the Reds.

Carl Jenkinson makes his first ever start for West Ham after arriving on a season-long loan from Arsenal. There's also a chance to see Aaron Cresswell at left-back, who has featured heavily in pre-season, as had Mauro Zarate.

Sam Allardyce has changed his entire starting XI from yesterday. Although his side eventually beat Schalke 04 on penalties, they were lucky to still be in the game in truth, as the hosts were by far the better side. Allardyce has said that he will try to play a more expansive game this season, but it wasn't on show yesterday. However, with a pacey front three today, they could cause Malaga some problems.

Kickoff is just a few minutes away, so there is just enough time for a quick prediction. The fact that this pits the top two teams in the group against each other means that it is a "winner-takes-all" encounter. I think that may well mean that it will start in a rather cagey manner, but I am tipping West Ham to nick it 1-0.

KICKOFF: We are underway!

West Ham have conceded possession from kickoff and have already sat back deep in a 4-4-1-1 formation without the ball. More of the same, it seems, from Allardyce.

Is is the case in many pre-season friendlies, the pace as rather slower than a competitive game. Malaga have had most of the ball so far but they boot it long and it rolls out for a West Ham goal kick.

West Ham are sitting deep, but at the slightest hint of a loose touch by a Malaga midfielder, Noble pounces and nicks the ball before winning a throw in. He really does lead by example, the skipper.

Aaron Cresswell is penalised for a handball as he blocks a through ball. His arms were down by his side but he knew what he was doing. A free kick to Malaga 40 yards out, but it is floated well over the heads of everyone in the box and rolls out for a goal kick.

The first real period of possession for West Ham sees Carl Jenkinson lose the ball on the right flank. He chases Juanmi back and seems to overrun it as he speeds past the ball, but the referee gives a free kick in Jenkinson's favour. He's a lucky boy.

Jose Rosales speeds down the right wing for Malaga and whips a dangerous cross into the near post. Recio only needs a slight touch, but gets a strong connection with the ball and heads it well wide of the near post. A poor finish, but better from Malaga,

West Ham have got their foot on the ball for the first time in the game, but they are going nowhere with it. 10 minutes have gone and we are yet to see a real chance.

Vaz Te with an audacious piece of skill as he backheels it down the right wing for Jenkinson to chase. It is so audacious, in fact, that Jenkinson is not expecting it and it runs out of play.

Mohamed Diame and Mark Noble have just crashed into two tackles in as many minutes. The referee is not impressed and awards the Spaniards a couple of free kicks.

Diame again, and this time he bundles over Angeleri. After taking the last two free kicks quickly, Malaga work this one sideways and attempt a dinked ball into the box... but Recio gets far too much on a straight ball and it goes out for a goal kick. A really poor set piece routine.

Boka skips away from Jenkinson on the left wing and whips a dangerous ball into the box which is headed away by Winston Reid. Malaga have been by far the better side in the opening 20 minutes or so.

Jarvis dinks a ball to the far post, but Vaz Te had darted towards the near post. Kameni wasn't sure what to do though, and came out to palm the ball away and got nowhere near it. Luckily for him, no-one was around.

GOAL! (Rescaldani) Malaga 1-0 West Ham

Goalmouth action, finally! The goal comes in rather fortuitous circumstances to be fair. Boka surges into the box, but Cresswell sees the danger and comes across to clear. However, it falls at the feet of Rescaldani, who takes one touch and strokes it home with aplomb.

GOAL! (Alberto) Malaga 2-0 West Ham

My word! It's 2-0! It's all going wrong for West Ham! Luis Alberto wonderfully controls a deep cross to the far post on the half-volley, before setting himself and side footing a measured finish neatly inside the near post from 12 yards out.

CHANCE! It's almost three! Wonderfuly intricate interchange between the Malaga forwards as Rescaldani releases Juanmi with a reverse ball. The Malaga skipper tries to drive it towards the far post, by Reid gets across well to make a good block.

Penalty shout for West Ham, as Zarate's shot on the turn strikes the arm of Sergio Sanchez, but it was blasted at the defender from close range. It would have been a very harsh decision.

PENALTY! Malaga have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Luis Alberto! The Liverpool loanee slips the ball through the legs of Carl Jenkinson, who drags the attacking midfielder down.

PENALTY SAVED! Dear oh dear. Alberto won the penalty and stepped up to take it, but it was a dreadful attempt. A soft shot, which bobbled along the floor, and Adrian kicked it away with his feet.

CLOSE! Wow! This game has sprung into life! Malaga counter attack and Rescanaldi's powerful effort rebounds off the chest of Adrian. Alberto follows it up and tries to dink it over the prone goalkeeper, but Adrian manages to claw it away at the second attempt. West Ham could be on the end of a thrashing here!

It has all gone pear-shaped in the last ten minutes for West Ham. Their game plan of keeping it tight has gone completely wrong and they'll have to come out to try and find two goals without conceding any more. A tough task.

BOOKING: Mark Noble has picked up the first yellow card of the game for his umpteenth foul. West Ham just can't get hold of the ball.

Reid with another rash challenge now. He is lucky not to enter the book for what was a cynical challenge. Another free kick to Malaga in a central area, 40 yards from goal. It is floated to Angeleri, who is acres of space... but the flag is quickly raised for offside.

Noble is standing over a dead ball on the left wing which is floated straight towards goal. Kameni comes out and gets a really strong fist on it, clearing out everyone in his path. Great goalkeeping, but he seems to have injured Diame in the process.

Diame is back on the pitch but is still clutching his hamstring. It looks like nothing more than a dead leg, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the midfielder withdrawn at the break with the Premier League season just a fortnight away.

Jarvis has looked like West Ham's main threat with his lightning pace causing Malaga a few problems, but his end product has been poor so far.

Right on cue, Jarvis puts in an inswinging cross towards the far post with his right foot, but it inches too high for the forward, who attacks the cross at real pace. Better from West Ham.

Rosales bundles into the back of Jarvis as the winger receives the ball. He may well have to foul Jarvis more in the second half.

HALF TIME: Malaga 2-0 West Ham

Sam Allardyce will not be happy. Not only are his side 2-0 down, but they are playing so abjectly. Aside from Zarate's shot that struck the arm of Sanchez, I cannot recall another attempt from the Hammers. They can't keep the ball and have been poor defensively. Kudos to Malaga though, who have looked very assured throughout the first 45 minutes.

There will have to be a few changes for West Ham at the break. The only player to come out with any credit from that first half is Jarvis. However, even his final ball has been poor on the whole.

Rescanaldi has been very impressive for Malaga. And whisper it quietly, but so has Luis Alberto in patches. It was wonderful skill to win the penalty, but then he undid all his good work with a shocking finish from 12 yards.

While you wait for the second half to start, why don't you catch up with what's happening on the final day of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow by clicking here?

SUBSTITUTION: Diame, who picked up an injury before the break, has been replaced by Josh Cullen.

KICKOFF: The second period in the Gelsenkirchen stadium is underway.

It's Jarvis again who is causing problems. He races down the outside of Rosales and chips a cross into the box, but Kameni comes to gather it with ease. Again, the approach play was classy, but the final ball was very, very poor.

This time, West Ham advance down the right wing with Vaz Te, who seems to have run into a cul-de-sac, but he digs out a dangerous ball which flies into the box, but there are no Hammers players in the 18-yard area. They've got to get bodies into the box if they're to draw level!

Malaga try to play themselves out of trouble but Cresswell steps in and advances towards goal. Vaz Te is in acres of space inside the box, but the left-back can't get any height on the cross to clear Angeleri, who smashes the ball into the stand. Any sort of decent ball would've seen Vaz Te presented with a glorious opportunity!

Juanmi rattles the ball into the back of the net, but he is ruled out for offside. However, subsequent replays show the Malaga captain to have been in an onside position when the pass was played. A let off for West Ham. If that goal had been allowed to stand, it would've been game over.

SAVE! Adrian reacts superbly to parry Rescaldani's powerful volley over the bar! He struck that with some venom!

CLOSE! It's Rescaldani who is denied by Adrian again! The corner is rolled back to Boka, who chips a cross to the far post, where the Rescaldani attacks it and heads towards the top corner. Another good save from Adrian to keep out the forward.

CLOSE! Sergio Sanchez tries a speculative shot from range, but it kicks up off a West Ham player who tries to block it and it loops inches over the top of Adrian's bar!

CHANCE! West Ham's first real chance of the game and it is a sitter! Jenkinson launches a long free kick high into the Malaga box and it drops onto the left foot of Reid, just six yards from goal. It was the finish of a centre half though, and it flops off his left boot and rolls just wide of the far post. He wasn't expecting it to come all the way through to him!

Vaz Te smashes a first-time volley across goal from Noble's raking pass, but the flag is raised for offside. Better from West Ham though, they are giving Malaga something to think about now.

SUBSTITUTION: Samuel Sanchez is replaced by Ricardo Horta.

The game has entered a bit of a lull as Malaga are happy to let West Ham have the ball, but Allardyce's side are struggling to create anything from open play.

West Ham just cannot get their foot on the ball for long enough periods to create anything. Malaga have a corner now...

SUBSTITUTION: Two more Malaga substitutions, as Recio and Pablo Perez are replaced by Juanpi and Igancio Camacho.

Malaga nick the ball off Noble and try to release Rescanaldi, but Reid anticipates the through ball and cuts it out.

West Ham aren't giving up without a fight, as first Reid then Jenkinson throw themselves in front of shots. It's all well and good being determined, but they now need a bit of quality on the ball. Less than 15 minutes remain for them to find at least two goals.

SUBSTITUTIONS: A change apiece at the Gelsenkirchen stadium. Winston Reid departs to be replace by the youngster Daniel Potts, while Roque Santa Cruz comes on for the impressive Ezequiel Rescanaldi.

MISS! My word! What a sitter for Santa Cruz. It must be his first touch! Adrian spills a long range shot (again) and it falls to the former Blackburn striker no more than three yards out, but he somehow drags his follow-up wide. That is an appalling miss which could well feature on numerous blooper DVDs in years to come!

Adrian is at it again! He gets down well to save a decently struck free kick, but he parries it back into the centre of goal! Luckily it bounces high up off the floor and he is up quickly to grab it at the second attempt.

SITTER! Another glorious chance goes begging for Malaga. It is Juanmi who races clear, with no-one around him. He takes a few touches to steady himself, but sidefoots to he ball into the side-netting with his left foot. They could easily by four or five goals ahead by this stage!

West Ham cross the halfway line! Not only that, but Jarvis' cross at the far post is chested back to goal by Boka, althoug Vaz Te very nearly nips in to tap home.

SAVE! A great save from Kameni! Malaga are inexplicably left one-on-one at the back from their own corner and Jarvis races away from his marker. However, his third touch is woeful and Kameni dashes off his line to make a strong slide tackle to avert the danger. Very good goalkeeping, but it was a dreadful touch from Jarvis. Any sort of decent touch and that was a guaranteed goal - he was bearing down on goal with no-one around him!

POST! Ricardo Horta skims the post with a shot across the face of goal!

OFF THE LINE! A mad final few minutes! Malaga work the ball celverly in the box and send a shot goalwards, but it is cleared off the line by the substitute Potts! Santa Cruz knocks in the rebound, but he is correctly flagged offside.

FULL TIME: Malaga 2-0 West Ham

Malaga are crowned victors of the Schalke Cup with the win! They were by far the better side and they deserved to win by more than two goals. A combination of good saves from Adrian and poor finishing ensured that it wasn't too embarrassing for the Hammers.

It doesn't look too good for Allardyce and co. The league season is just two weeks away and they have plenty of work to do on today's showing. They were abject at best, and I can only recall two real chances. Malaga, on the other hand, were superb. Rescanaldi was the best player on the pitch and revelled in the space given to him by West Ham.

That's all from me today, but thanks for sticking around on Sports Mole to follow today's action. Be sure to stick around to check out all the transfer rumours from today and the rest of the Commonwealth Games action.

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Carlton Cole of West Ham celebrates after scoring his team's second goal of the game during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham and Southampton at Boleyn Ground on February 22, 2014
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